Pallet having lateral supports, and use thereof

ABSTRACT

A pallet including a load-receiving support with supporting joists, the pallet being provided with removable lateral supports. The pallet is characterized in that the load-receiving surface is provided with indentations of a configuration that substantially corresponds to the shape of the removable lateral supports. Such a pallet can be used in the stacking and distribution of Christmas trees and decorative greenery.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a pallet comprising a load receivingsurface with supporting joists, said pallet having removable lateralsupports that protrude upwardly from said load receiving surface.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Pallets are widely used for packaging and stacking of various kinds ofgoods, typically individual items or packages that may be stacked in astable manner or fixated relative to the pallet by winding with e.g.steel or plastics bands. Pallets are advantageous for transportationsince they have modular dimensions and are thus configured for optimalutilisation of the space in trucks, containers or cargo wagons. Palletsare often involved throughout the entire distribution chain, all the wayfrom manufacturer to consumer.

Various pallet dimensions and types have been developed, and inparticular for use in connection with the production of Christmas treesand decorative greenery, a pallet system has been developed thatconsists of a so-called transport pallet on which Christmas trees anddecorative greenery are transported to the retailer, and a so-calledforest pallet on which the less solid transport pallet is positionedduring its transport and packaging on the growth site in the forest.This system is described in further detail in DK patent No. 169 147, andin addition to said pallets it also describes a method of packagingChristmas trees and decorative greenery in a compressed manner.

In order to minimise packaging waste, it is a current desire thatpallets are to be returned to the manufacturer following discharge oftheir loads at the retailer's. However, the above-describedtransportation pallet is not very suitable for reuse since, althoughremovable, its lateral elements cannot be packed away during thetransport back to the manufacturer and therefore the empty pallet andits lateral elements take up comparatively much space during this returntransport.

However, the transport pallet used in practice is forwarded to theretailer without use of lateral supports, the pallet and the Christmastrees or the decorative greenery merely being wound with a plastics orsteel band. However, this presents the drawback at the retailer's thatall Christmas trees or all the decorative greenery is discharged fromthe pallet at the same time when the windings are cut. However this iscontrary to the retailer's wish that discharge from the pallet may beeffected continuously.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is the object of the present invention to provide a pallet withlateral supports which may be packed away thereby accomplishing a palletwhich does not consume considerably more space than an empty palletwithout lateral supports. In the packed state, the lateral supports mustmoreover be so positioned that they are not readily able to slide awayfrom the pallet during transport.

This object is obtained by configuring the pallet described above insuch a manner that the load receiving surface is provided withindentations of a configuration that corresponds substantially to theshape of the removable lateral supports, whereby said lateral supportsmay be arranged in the indentations when removed from the pallet.

By providing the load-receiving surface of the pallet in this manner, itis possible to arrange the lateral supports in the indentations of theload-receiving surface where they will be more or less secured.

By configuring the pallet in such a manner that the lateral supportsconsist of posts, and by providing the load-receiving surface withlongitudinally extending grooves of a width that corresponds to thewidth of the posts, it is obtained that the posts may be arranged in thegrooves of the load-receiving surface and thus be secured duringtransport of the unloaded pallet.

According to a particularly simple embodiment, the posts consist ofwooden planks whereas the load-receiving surface consists ofcorresponding wooden planks arranged at mutual distances that correspondto the width of the planks. Hereby the grooves in the load-receivingsurface are constituted by the spaces between the planks of theload-receiving surface.

According to a preferred embodiment of the invention, the lateralsupports may be mounted loosely on the sides of the pallet, and whenmounted they occupy a position in their free state where they inclineaway from the pallet.

By connecting the lateral supports mounted on each side of the palletwith e.g. bars, strings or chains it is obtained, on the one hand, thatthe lateral supports are prevented from flexing outwards, and on theother, that the lateral supports are further squeezed home in themounting fittings on the pallet.

The mounting of the lateral supports is preferably effected by thepallet being provided with parts that protrude from the sides, saidparts delimiting an upwardly open cavity, and by the lower ends of thelateral supports being provided complementary with said cavity.

Hereby the lateral supports may be mounted on the sides of the palletmerely by shifting their lower ends downwards into the upwardly facingopening on the sides of the pallet.

According to a particularly simple embodiment of the protruding parts,they consist of a U-shaped fitting secured to the ends of the joiststhat support the load-receiving surface.

The protruding parts may also consist of the ends of the joists thatsupport the pallet, thereby allowing the upwardly opening cavity toconsist of a bore. In this embodiment the lateral supports mayadvantageously consist of bars/tubes of steel.

The invention also relates to the use of a pallet as described for usein the stacking and distribution of Christmas trees and decorativegreenery.

The invention will now be explained in further detail with reference tothe drawings, wherein

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

FIG. 1 illustrates a pallet according to the invention in a preferredembodiment with its lateral supports in their mounted state,

FIG. 2 illustrates the same pallet as FIG. 1 in its collapsed state,

FIG. 3 illustrates a pallet semi-loaded with Christmas trees,

FIG. 4 is a detailed view of the mounting of the lateral supports on thepallet, and

FIG. 5 illustrates a pallet semi-loaded with Christmas trees accordingto an alternative embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The pallet has a load-receiving surface 1 consisting of sevenlongitudinally extending planks 2 in the embodiment shown. The planks 2are secured by means of nails or the like to supporting joists 3 thatextend transversally to the planks 2. In the embodiment shown the palletis provided with three joists 3.

At each end of the joists 3, a U-shaped fitting 4 is mounted which willappear more clearly from FIGS. 2 and 4 and which will be subject to moredetailed discussion below.

In the U-shaped fitting 4, upwardly protruding lateral supports 5 in theform of planks are mounted, the dimensions of which correspond to thedimensions of the planks 2 on the load-receiving surface 1.

Centrally on the lateral supports 5 a through-going elongated hole 6 isprovided, and a corresponding hole 7 is provided at the uppermostextremities of the lateral supports. The function of these holes will bedescribed in detail below.

FIG. 2 illustrates the same pallet as FIG. 1, only in its collapsedstate.

Since the distance between the planks 2 of the load-receiving surface 1corresponds to the width of the lateral supports 5, the lateral supports5 may be laid down between the planks 2 of the load-receiving surface 1so as to rest upon the supporting joists 3. Since the dimensions of thelateral supports 5 and the planks 2 in the embodiment shown areidentical, the surface of the collapsed pallet becomes completelyplanar.

According to an alternative embodiment, the lateral supports 5 and theplanks 2 may have different dimensions, e.g. as a consequence of thevarious load requirements made to load-receiving surface and lateralsupports, respectively, whereby the surface of the collapsed pallet isnot completely planar but will assume a height corresponding to thewidest portions of lateral supports 5 and planks 2, respectively.

As will also appear, the lateral supports 5 in the preferred embodimentare longer than the pallet and therefore they extend beyond the palletin its collapsed state.

When the pallet is to be packed with e.g. Christmas trees 8, the firststep is to mount all the lateral supports 5 in the U-shaped fittings 4whereby the appearance shown in FIG. 1 is imparted to the pallet.

The Christmas trees 8 that have previously been pulled through a nylonnet are subsequently arranged on the pallet with their tops beingoriented towards the centre of the pallet and the sawed-off trunks beingoriented towards the extremities of the pallet as shown in FIG. 3.

Thus the central lateral supports 5 support the tops of the Christmastrees 8 whereas the lateral supports at the ends of the pallet supportthe Christmas trees 8 at their thickest portion which is important inorder to avoid that any parts of the Christmas trees protrude beyond thetotal width of the pallet.

When the pallet is approximately semi-loaded, i.e. when the Christmastrees 8 reach the through-going, elongated holes 6 in the lateralsupports 5, bars 9 are mounted with bent extremities through the holes 6in the opposed lateral supports 5 for stabilisation thereof prior tofurther loading of the pallet.

Since the lateral supports 5 are exposed to outward pressure from theChristmas trees 8 loaded thereon, the bars 9 are secured in the holes 6via their bent extremities.

When the rods 9 are mounted in the holes 6, the pallet may be furtherloaded with Christmas trees until they reach the upper, elongated holes7, following which bars are mounted therein in a manner similar to thatof the bars 9 in the holes 6.

This further loading of the pallet effects a compression of theChristmas trees already packed and therefore it is important that theholes 6 are elongate, since this configuration allows the extremities ofthe bars 9 to slide downwards relative to the lateral supports 5.

Unloading of the pallet is accomplished in the opposite sequence, thebars 9 in the upper, elongate holes 7 being first removed. Half of thepacked Christmas trees 8 may now be discharged following which the bars9 in the elongated holes 6 are removed and the pallet is unloadedcompletely. Since the lateral supports 5 continue to support theChristmas trees 8 on the pallet during tho unloading procedure, it ispossible to continuously unload the pallet which is not an option withthe prior art pallets that are emptied all at once when the bandwindings are removed.

If the pallet according to the invention is to be unloaded all at once,all it takes is to remove the lateral supports 5. If the lateralsupports are removed at one side only, unloading of the pallet from oneside is accomplished.

FIG. 4 is an end view of a part of the pallet in a preferred embodiment.The figure illustrates how the U-shaped fittings 4 are configured andattached to the extremity of one of the joists 3. Above the joists 3,planks 2 forming the load-receiving surface 1 are secured by means ofnails or the like.

In the protruding, U-shaped fitting 4, a lateral support 5 is mounted inthe form of a plank, as shown in FIG. 1. In the embodiment shown, theU-shaped fitting 4 is provided with a bottom 10 on which the lateralsupport 5 rests when mounted in the U-shaped fitting 4. However, nothingprevents the U-shaped fitting 4 from forming a through-going openingwhich allows the lateral support 5 to extend completely through theU-shaped fitting 4 and rest with its extremity on the support on whichthe pallet is arranged.

The end of the joist 3 and the outermost extremity of the U-shapedfitting 4 is so configured that the lateral support 5 tapers outwardsrelative to the pallet with an angle α that is typically comprisedwithin the range of from 2° to 5°.

By configuring the U-shaped fitting 4 in this manner, the lateralsupport 5 is squeezed firmly in when the bars 9 are mounted in the holes6 and 7, these bars 9 hereby biasing the lateral supports inwards at themiddle and at the top, thereby causing the lateral supports to besqueezed firmly into the tapering, U-shaped sittings 4. Hereby a palletis accomplished which is, in its loaded state, very stable, and furtherwinding of the loaded pallet with steel or plastics bands is no longerrequired.

FIG. 5 illustrates an alternative embodiment of a pallet according tothe invention wherein strings 11 are used instead of bars 9 asconnecting means between opposed lateral supports 5. The strings 11 areprovided with closed loops 12 at their ends, said loops 12 having suchdimension as to be fitted around the lateral supports 5. Loading of thepallet is carried out in the same manner as when bars 9 are used asconnecting means, and the use of strings 11 presents the advantage thatthey may be arranged more randomly since they do not depend on holes 6,7in the lateral supports 5. Moreover, the strings 11 are more adaptiverelative to the trees 8 whereby the risk of damaging the trees isminimised.

As shown in FIG. 5, each of the lateral supports 5 is provided with tworecesses 13 at its uppermost end, said recesses 13 serving to secure thetop string when the pallet is fully loaded.

The pallet is preferably configured for use in connection with a machinethat compresses the Christmas trees 8 when they are loaded onto thepallet. In the embodiment of the pallet shown, the machine shouldpreferably be provided with additional lateral supports for the palletduring the compression procedure in order to ensure that the lateralsupports S can tolerate the pressure they are exposed to during thecompression.

The pallet may also be used in a completely manual loading procedure,since a frame may advantageously be used therefor which may be arrangedaround the pallet and which partly braces the lateral support 5 to avoidflexing and partly prevents the Christmas trees a and the decorativegreenery from sliding during the loading procedure. The frame may have aheight e.g. corresponding to about one third of the height of thelateral supports, and during the loading it is shifted upwards along thelateral supports 5 in pace with loading of the pallet.

The pallet according to the invention may have many configurations inaddition to the one shown in FIGS. 1 through 5.

For instance, the pallet could be configured as a steel pallet withlateral supports also made of steel, or it could consist of acombination of steel and wood.

For instance, the protruding parts of the pallet for mounting of lateralsupports 5 may consist of the extremities of the supporting joists 3 ineach of which a hole has been bored for a lateral support 5 consistingof a bar or a tube of steel.

The rigid bars 9 or strings 11 may also be replaced by e.g. chains, theonly condition being that they are configured to be able to slideupwards and downwards in the lateral supports 5 to absorb the pullgenerated therein when mounted between the opposed lateral supports.

What is claimed is:
 1. A pallet comprising a load-receiving surfacedefining a longitudinal and a transverse extension of the pallet and aplurality of lateral supports protruding upwardly from saidload-receiving surface along said longitudinal extension of the pallet,wherein the load-receiving surface comprises indentations of aconfiguration that substantially corresponds to the shape of the lateralsupports,the pallet further comprising a plurality of supporting joistsarranged in said transverse extension of the pallet wherein the lateralsupports are removably secured to the pallet at an end of each joist,wherein the lateral supports can be arranged in said indentations whendismounted from the pallet, wherein the lateral supports can be mountedloosely on the sides of the pallet and that, upon mounting, they have aninclination away from the pallet in their free state.
 2. A palletaccording to claim 1, wherein the lateral supports comprise posts andthe load-receiving surface is provided with longitudinally extendinggrooves, the width of which corresponds to the width of the posts.
 3. Apallet according to claim 2, wherein the posts comprise wooden planks,and the load-receiving surface comprises corresponding wooden planksarranged at mutual distances that correspond to the width of the planks.4. A pallet according to claim 1, further comprising connecting elementsthat connect the lateral supports mounted on each side of the pallet. 5.A pallet according to claim 4, wherein the connecting elements compriserigid bars that are arranged for engaging with the lateral supports. 6.A pallet according to claim 4, wherein the connecting elements comprisestrings whose ends are configured as a closed loop that may passdownwards over the lateral supports.
 7. A pallet comprising aload-receiving surface defining a longitudinal and a transverseextension of the pallet and a plurality of lateral supports protrudingupwardly from said load-receiving surface along said longitudinalextension of the pallet, wherein the load-receiving surface comprisesindentations of a configuration that substantially corresponds to theshape of the lateral supports,the pallet further comprising a pluralityof supporting joists arranged in said transverse extension of the palletwherein the lateral supports are removably secured to the pallet at anend of each joist, wherein the lateral supports can be arranged in saidindentations when dismounted from the pallet, wherein the pallet isprovided with elements comprising a U-shaped fitting, attached to theends of the supporting joists, that protrude from the side of saidpallet, said elements delimiting an upwardly open cavity, wherein thelateral supports are configured to be complementary with said cavity. 8.A pallet comprising a load-receiving surface defining a longitudinal anda transverse extension of the pallet and a plurality of lateral supportsprotruding upwardly from said load-receiving surface along saidlongitudinal extension of the pallet, wherein the load-receiving surfacecomprises indentations of a configuration that substantially correspondsto the shape of the lateral supports,the pallet further comprising aplurality of supporting joists arranged in said transverse extension ofthe pallet wherein the lateral supports are removably secured to thepallet at an end of each joist, wherein the lateral supports can bearranged in said indentations when dismounted from the pallet, whereinthe pallet is provided with elements comprising upwardly open cavitiesin the ends of the joists, wherein the lateral supports are configuredto be complementary with said cavity.